CABA Information Series

(IS-2012-130) Benefits and costs of improved IEQ in U.S. offices

This report from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory examines the costs and benefits of system that improve indoor air quality (IAQ). Improvements are possible with small increases and sometimes savings in the energy costs for operating a building. The objective is to increase the ventilation rate (VR) by up to 50%. The technology uses economizers attached to HVAC equipment for gathering outdoor air. A key finding: “The estimated benefits of the scenarios analyzed are substantial in magnitude, including work performance increases, reductions in SBS [Sick Building Syndrome] symptoms, absence reductions, and thermal comfort improvements in millions of office workers.”